


Kindred Spirits

by Bellflower



Category: Samurai Warriors
Genre: F/M, Samurai Warriors Secret Santa 2013
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-30
Updated: 2013-12-30
Packaged: 2018-01-06 19:24:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1110613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellflower/pseuds/Bellflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Go over, make an impression, <i>meet his hero</i>. A simple but effective plan that he was completely confident in, and so he strode with purpose towards his goal, holding his head so high and proud that he completely failed to notice the small figure that had appeared hanging upside down from a tree branch out of, seemingly, nowhere. That was why Masamune was unable to anticipate and prevent that figure from reaching down and snatching his helmet straight from his head.</p>
<p>For crystalizedorangepeels on tumblr, as part of the 2013 SW secret santa!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kindred Spirits

The land was at peace... for the moment, anyway.

Date Masamune, the ambitious young warlord of Oshuu, had accepted that making a bid for leadership of Japan was now out of the question (though it had taken a staged rebellion and plenty of bruises for him to come to that stage). His desire to one day conquer the land was far from dead, but he knew he would have to be patient.

After Hideyoshi, there would be war again. Tokugawa Ieyasu would surely be the one to grasp control then, and Masamune already planned to support him, but once that was done? It _would_ be the era of the Date clan. 

For now, he would have to play the part of a loyal subject. It wasn't the most satisfying of existences, but Masamune was not one to merely give up and back out of a situation. Besides, it enabled him to make connections that he could never have dreamed of making before. Like, for example, ones with the Takeda clan... and their vassals, the Sanada, who were in Masamune's opinion far more valuable than their Lords. After all, they could count amongst their number the legendary crimson samurai; the man whom Masamune had for many years secretly admired and wished to impress.

Sanada Yukimura.

Hideyoshi had recently thrown a large party of sorts, one which he had invited every major Lord in the land to. Frankly, it was an obvious way for the new ruler to let every single one of them know that he was watching them closely; almost every cheerful comment the former sandal-bearer made seemed to contain unsaid warnings or suggestions. Hideyoshi was a very clever and perceptive man, even if he was, in Masamune's firm opinion, far too obsessed with chasing every beautiful woman he came across (which was, along with everything else, a really dangerous thing to do; what sane man would dare cheat when he was married to someone like the Lady Nene? Surely only an imbecile would do such a thing). Masamune hadn't been particularly interested in socialising with a good proportion of the attendees that Hideyoshi was happily plying with alcohol and veiled threats, but since he had laid eyes on Sanada Masayuki and his two sons he had been pondering how best to introduce himself properly. Sure, he had met Yukimura several times before, but always when they were either enemies at war or allies riding into battle with little time for pleasantries. Proper introductions needed to be done the right way.

Well... what _Masamune_ considered the right way. Not perhaps what others considered appropriate, but he'd be damned if he changed himself just to satisfy the expectations of a bunch of morons.

Sat in one of Hideyoshi's beautiful gardens with a drink in his right hand, Masamune watched the festivities from a small distance as he considered his battle plan. Yukimura was currently deep in conversation with Ishida Mitsunari and Naoe Kanetsugu, so approaching right now was out of the question; dealing with those two morons and their short-sighted opinions was just not worth it when waiting would get them out of the way. Nobuyuki was likewise engaged with members of the Tokugawa, as one might expect, so he wouldn't be useful as a method of getting to Yukimura for a while. That left the Sanada patriarch, Masayuki. Now _he_ was more promising; the old man had not really stuck to any group so far, mingling with each Lord in turn without getting too engaged in any conversation. Maybe he was scoping out the competition and gauging the best men to work on forging links with? Whatever the case, there was no way he'd turn away Date Masamune. All Masamune would have to do then was show what should be obvious if Masayuki was as wise as was said; that working with the Date would be more than worth his time.

Not that Masamune intended to make any actual political moves right now. He wasn't stupid. Just enough willing to ensure introductions were made to Masayuki's sons was all that was necessary for the moment.

He downed his drink, threw the drinking vessel to the floor, and stood up.

Go over, make an impression, _meet his hero_. A simple but effective plan that he was completely confident in, and so he strode with purpose towards his goal, holding his head so high and proud that he completely failed to notice the small figure that had appeared hanging upside down from a tree branch out of, seemingly, nowhere. That was why Masamune was unable to anticipate and prevent that figure from reaching down and snatching his helmet straight from his head. 

“Gotcha!”

Startled, Masamune whipped round with a frown on his face and found himself faced with his enemy; a young woman with a wide-smile now dancing around effortlessly on her tree branch with his helmet perched on her head. He recognised her from the battlefield; it was Yukimura's ninja girl. What was her name? Masamune had only ever heard her referred to as 'Kunoichi,' so perhaps she was one of those ninja that forsook their names, but the serious nature of such an act did not mix well with the teasing, playful and somewhat irritating figure in white and pink before him.

“Imbecile!” he snapped, annoyed. “Give it back!”

“Why would I do that?” she replied cheerfully. “I only just got it! Don't you think it suits me better than you? This is a helmet for an adult, after all, and you're still a little boy.”

“A child like you would hardly know anything about being adult.” Masamune stepped closer to Kunoichi's tree, scowl deeply etched into his features. “Give it back. _Now_.”

“That's no fun. Why don't you try and take it from me? Bet you can't!”

“Don't be such a moron. You're no match for a warrior like me.”

“Aww, look, he's getting angry! Does the baby need a nap?”

She was infuriating! His anger getting the better of him, Masamune was rushing up the tree mere moments later, only for the Kunoichi to backflip onto the ground the moment he reached her branch; she was still smiling, an amused sparkle obvious in her eyes. Faced with an expression like that, the young warlord could only rise to the challenge and went for a backflip himself. 

Not, perhaps, his greatest idea, considering the ceremonial armour he was wearing. Masamune hit the ground with a loud 'thump' and an angry cry, landing face-first onto the grass. Somewhere beside him, Kunoichi laughed loud and long.

Great.

Pushing himself up into a sitting position, Masamune checked himself over quickly before crossing his arms and glaring over at the gleeful ninja. The impact of his fall had hurt, but not overly so; worse was the humiliation at getting so easily baited into doing something he knew was stupid.

“That's not a good place for a nap, you know,” Kunoichi said, suddenly in front of him again with the helmet still on. How had she back-flipped without it falling off, anyway?

“Are you good for anything but time-wasting games?” Masamune snapped in response. “Shouldn't you be with Yukimura, anyway? A good ninja should keep watch over her Master!”

“A good ninja always _knows_ when her Master is fine.” There was a pause, and for a moment, Kunoichi looked a little more serious. “Like right now. Speaking of Lord Yukimura, why have you been spying on him all day? It's highly suspicious!”

That actually took Masamune by surprise, though he took care not to show it. Was that what this was about? She thought he'd been spying on Yukimura? That was... that was ridiculous! How could she be so stupid as to think someone like Date Masamune would do something like that? Merely watching wasn't the same as spying, after all. Definitely not. Ignoring the burning of his ears, Masamune shook his head.

“I've not been spying on him. In case you haven't noticed, I am a warlord! It's part of my job to judge others of my rank and see who is actually worth anything.”

“If that's true, you really can't be certain about my Lord! Are you insulting him? Trying to say he isn't worth much?” Kunoichi knelt, and jabbed one finger in Masamune's direction. “You should be grateful he even thinks well of you!”

“He thinks well of me?”

Masamune couldn't help it; the idea of Yukimura thinking well of him gave him a genuine, excited thrill. The interest must have shown in his face, because Kunoichi eyes widened... and then she jumped back up onto her feet, both hands on her mouth. 

The burning in Masamune's ears quickly extended to his cheeks, his whole face turning a very deep shade of red. Kunoichi was staring at him so intently and knowingly that he felt far more exposed than he liked to be in front of anyone. Standing up himself, he strode over, snatched his helmet back from atop the Kunoichi's head and started to walk off haughtily. He wasn't going to hang around to be judged by a mere ninja girl! Masamune managed to walk only five paces, however, before said ninja girl pounced onto his back and hugged him tightly from behind.

“W-what the hell?” Masamune almost yelled indignantly, swinging around to try and remove her. “Get off! Imbecile!”

“You're like me!” Kunoichi would not be dislodged, and held on tightly with little effort. “Well... not quite. But kinda! A lot!”

“I'm nothing like you! Get off!”

“You are! I saw your face. Lord Yukimura is important to you too, right? Even though you don't know him well, like me, I could see that! I saw it!”

“I... look, just shut up!”

“Not until you admit it!”

“I've got nothing to admit! You don't know anything about me!”

“Yes I do! We're... what's the term? Kindred spirits, yeah! Admit it!”

“No!”

“Admit it, you jerk!”

“Ugh, fine!”

Masamune drew to a stand-still and folded his arms again. He couldn't believe he was about to say this, but if this was the only way to get rid of Kunoichi then fine. Too much longer in this situation and he'd miss his chance with Masayuki. Trying to push down the deep feelings of embarrassment and maintain his dignity, he spoke again.

“I _admire_ him, alright? That's it. It's not to some stupid level of 'important' or anything like that, so stop getting ideas in your head. I'm not enough of an imbecile to miss the fact that he's a skilled samurai. Now get off me!”

There was a long, drawn out silence... and then, to Masamune's deep surprise, he heard a sincere, serious and incredibly quiet 'thank you' whispered into his back. Coming from Kunoichi after the whole ridiculous display he'd had to endure was strange, and made Masamune feel rather odd. Why on earth did she sound so grateful, like he'd done her a massive favour? For once, he was lost for words, and didn't know how to reply.

Only when she let go and he could turn to face her did the awkward atmosphere fade... well. Not immediately. Kunoichi was actually looking somewhat shy, and that left Masamune feeling off-guard. The feeling certainly faded again mere moments later when she suddenly smirked again, reached up and pinched his nose.

“Aww, you're like a star-struck fan admiring their favourite dancer from afar!” she chirped. “How cute! I can get his autograph for you, if you're a good boy!”

“You... ugh!” Cursing the blush he knew had yet to fade, Masamune turned on his heels and walked off again, this time with one hand on his helmet. He almost expected that Kunoichi would try and pounce on him again, but it didn't happen. Instead she merely laughed, and when he turned his head a little to look behind him she'd disappeared completely.

“Imbecile...” Masamune murmured, hating the fact that he couldn't bring himself to be sincere with the word. Something strange had just happened, and he had a feeling that he would be seeing a lot more of Yukimura's loyal ninja in the near future, even when Yukimura himself wasn't around.

Speaking of which, it was time to get back to his plan. Facing forward again, Masamune walked straight back into party, thoughts of Kunoichi's whispered words echoing at the edge of his mind.


End file.
